After promising the U.S. an end to the war during his candidacy, President Barack Obama proudly assured the nation on Oct. 21 that an end to the 10-year war in Iraq would come before the end of the year. The President announced that as of Jan. 1, the U.S. and Iraq shall maintain sovereign relations, according to the Strategic Direction Framework with Iraq.
The day before, the Gaddafi regime in Libya came to an end, marking another successful U.S. intervention mission, which NATO is working to bring to a close.
However, some troops will remain in Afghanistan, although there will be decreased deployments and increased efforts to end that occupation as well.
The president reflected on the last ten years of the war; the more than 1 million Americans who served in the war, and nearly 4,500 Americans and Iraqi coalition partners who gave their lives in this brutal battle. Obama stressed that the government will never stop working to provide war veterans the services they deserve to ease their transition back into the public.
“This includes enlisting our veterans in the greatest challenge that we now face as a nation — creating opportunity and jobs in this country. Because, after a decade of war, the nation that we need to build — and the nation that we will build — is our own; an America that sees its economic strength restored,” said Obama.
Our domestic foreign policy, positions us as world “leaders,” responsible for the restructuring of governments in developing countries. We can see the impact of our overseas occupation in the oversight of our own national issues, like the recent recession, loose foreign trade policies and poorly-enforced corporate-lending regulations.
Our depressed economy is causing overwhelming unemployment, which is undermining dignity of our working class and increasing poverty, so why are we spending billions of dollars on military missions overseas?
Let’s face it: Bailouts were a pacifier, but our economy is still crying.
People are still being laid off, poverty is perpetually on the rise, and people are fed up with the lack of fiscal responsibility on behalf of both our public and private sectors.
With a flood of soldiers sweeping over our cities job ladders will be even tougher to climb and unemployment is unlikely to drop. Many soldiers will be coming home and beginning their educations at colleges like LCC. This is putting financial pressure on the U.S. government to fund increased GI Bills along with other financial aid funding and could lead to possible shortages.
The important thing to remember is, regardless of whether you agree with the war, both sides are human. Islam does not support an ideology that specifically condones violence, and all Americans don’t support the holier-than-thou superiority complex unfairly attributed to us.
Likewise, those who enlisted during the war don’t necessarily agree with all of our nation’s policies and procedures surrounding it.
People are people, judge them individually if you need to; judge them, but don’t cast out returning troops because you disagree with the war. Alternatively, if you support the war, don’t typecast Islamic people based on preconceived ideas and actions they did not commit or necessarily agree with.
Supporting our troops means more than a car magnet—it means making a conscious effort to show gratuity and compassion for the issues those veterans are facing coming home. Many of them suffer from PTSD and increased rates of alcoholism and drug abuse. If you know of someone who needs help overcoming those hurdles, refer them to a support resource, and let them know that you understand, and it’s okay.
